Jupiter Hammon

There’s a brand new poem to add to Juneteenthcelebrations this year. It’s a previously unknown work by the country’s first published black writer, Jupiter Hammon. UT Arlington grad student Julie McCown, uncovered the handwritten poem while looking for a specific piece of Hammon’s work. The piece, called “An Essay on Slavery," was buried in documents at the Manuscripts and Archives at Yale University Library in Connecticut.